Even with all the awful news about the economy, there’s absolutely no reason why anyone should remove Entertainment from their budget. Just about every city in America has options to suit even the most stringent financial situation. When my brothers and I were young, our single immigrant mom — who sometimes worked up to three jobs at a time to support us — would take us to the park after church on Sundays. We’d load up on Happy Meals (can you believe that for $5, my mom could feed our entire family of four? Of course, this was the early ’80s), then head out to the biggest park (at the time) in Irving and have a daylong picnic. Sure, it wasn’t Disneyland or Wet ‘n’ Wild, but we’ve actually been to both places, and I still remember those Sunday picnics at the park most fondly.
PICNICS!
I see people sometimes spreading out a blanket at nearby parks, but just from personal observation, I would say that picnics have gone out of fashion. With kids and even their parents glued to their Wiis, weekends packed with organized activities like soccer practice, ballet practice, piano practice,
etc., picnics have become obsolete and forgotten. As far as I can tell, the only folks who advocate the return of the old-fashioned picnic are retailers like Bed Bath & Beyond, who try to hawk these expensive picnic baskets. Of course, the only thing that does to a busy person like you and me is stress me out even further about picnics. Who has time to prepare the elaborate meals that those baskets require? Some of them even come with wine glasses. If you have time to pack such an elegant outdoor meal, that’s wonderful, but for most of us, a run through Whole Foods or even McDonald’s would be just as fun and memorable. (Hey, if McDonald’s can be popular in Paris, it’s good enough for the American picnic!)
The French love picnics, now and forever. They still take the time to spread out on the vast lawns of Paris’ many, many parks, perhaps on a little patch of grass along the Seine, and break bread with friends or family or even colleagues. They don’t need the fancy picnic baskets, either. A loaf of fresh bread from the boulangerie, a hunk of cheese, some fruit, and maybe some mineral water or even wine, and they’re completely content. All you really need is food, a shady corner of grass, and the willingness to just sit still and be, to enjoy the passage of time without feeling the need to jump up and do something. It doesn’t have to be done everyday or even every week or every month. But even an occasional foray into the park with your honey, your kids or a few friends will do wonders for your inner peace, not to mention your inner wallet.
MOVIES
B. and I love movies. When I was growing up, I probably saw a movie every day, sometimes twice a day. Now that I’m a grownup, it’s not so easy to find the time to do that, but we still try and snatch a couple of hours every few weeks to watch a highly anticipated movie together. Still, even with just the two of us, a trip to the movie theater can run us at least $20 for tickets alone, plus the inevitable trip to the coffee shop afterwards, the gas and the time spent trying to find a parking space. So lately we’ve been saving the movie experience for those films that we feel must really be seen on the big screen, like the new Star Trek film, where extras like special effects can stand out and be truly enjoyed the way they were meant to.
So we have three go-tos: Netflix, the public library and our DVR. Even the cheapest Netflix option (about $9/month for 1 video at a time) is cheaper than one night at the movies (even if you end up only borrowing just one video per month). We reserve Netflix mostly for indie, foreign and old movies that are otherwise difficult to find or are almost never broadcast on TV. My favorite part about Netflix is that 99% of the time, if it’s in my queue and up for delivery, it’s often in my mailbox the very next day.
The library can be hit or miss, depending on the quality of the collection in your area. In Grand Junction the librarians always seemed to offer an amazing mix of new and old films, plus hard-t0-find documentaries and indie movies, but the library at which we have a membership here (Irving) is a little slower in beefing up their collection. Still, you can’t beat the price. The library is a bit of a drive from where we live, though, so we don’t use this option as often as I’d like.
Families with children will really benefit from their library’s video collection, though, as I’ve noticed that public libraries in general tend to have better children’s movie sections than adult’s.
BOOKS & MAGAZINES
If you had to ask me what my absolute favorite hobby is, it would definitely be reading. B. sometimes laughs at me because he’ll catch me reading the labels on, say, the soy sauce bottle as we’re eating dinner. I just can’t stop reading.
As a writer, I’m totally on board the idea of buying books brand new. When I’m an author, I certainly want people to buy my books at the bookstore! Still, the reality is that I have to be a bit more discriminating with my purchases, as books can get pretty expensive. I rarely buy novels unless they’re by my favorite author (Mark Salzman), but I do like buying nonfiction, especially histories, biographies, memoirs, and writing how-to’s. 
Again, the library is the best place to get books. And if you haven’t tried it already, the Interlibrary (ILL) Loan System (to which most public and even private university/college libraries belong) is fantastic. I can’t say enough wonderful things about ILL! I can’t even imagine doing all the research for my World War II novel without ILL. I would have spent hundreds upon hundreds of dollars accessing some very rare, out-of-print books and manuscripts about a rather obscure aspect of the war (well, obscure to Americans, anyway).
If your local library doesn’t have a particular book in their collection, you can request it through ILL and get it anywhere from two to eight weeks, depending on how difficult it is to track down said book. I’ve rarely had to pay for it, too, and most libraries will let you know ahead of time if they have to charge you for it. (I’ve only really had to pay for an ILL book twice, and each time it was for less than $20, a real bargain when you consider that most of the books I wanted were academic books that cost upwards of $50.) Some ILL programs allow movies, too, although you’ll need to ask the ILL librarian.
For families, one of the best things about the library is all the events that take place, especially during the summer. Just about every library has some kind of a summer reading club, which is a wonderful way to encourage kids to read through the summer doldrums. Libraries often have book readings throughout the year, both for adults and kids, and will host local and nationally-renowned authors. Grand Junction’s library had puppet shows every week or so, and also had a pretty big play area, complete with toys that their little patrons could check out and take home.
One of the best things about the Grand Junction library was their library swap, which allowed anyone to bring in their used magazines and/or pick up ones donated by others. Here in Irving, used magazines can be donated to the library but are sold for 10 cents a piece. I’ve picked up probably hundreds of copies (sometimes current issues) of all kinds of publications, including domino, Victoria, Writers’ Digest, Poets & Writers, Good Housekeeping, Vegetarian Times, US Weekly, O Magazine, Redbook, Glamour, and many, many more. If your library doesn’t have a similar program, talk to the librarian and encourage them to start one. It doesn’t require much space, and it was probably one of the most popular services the Grand Junction library offers. Plus, it’s so green, allowing library patrons to share their used magazines with their neighbors rather than toss them in the trash or have them end up in the recycling bin.
Try local used bookstores, too. These have become much more popular ever since the recession hit and people have cut back on their bookbuying budgets. As a writer I’d rather buy new books, but hey, I’m also a reader, so I can’t stay away from any bookstore — used or new — even if you paid me. (Okay, you can pay me, but you’ll have to pay me a lot.) Dallas has the hugely popular (and ever-expanding) Half Price Books, but there’s also the cult favorite Recycled Books in Denton. Lucky Portland, OR, has Powell’s Books, Austin has 12th Street Books, Denver has Capitol Hill Books, Kauai has Talk Story, and New York, Chicago and Boston has tons of their own. Even Grand Junction has Twice Upon a Time and the Authors’ Gallery. Some stores haven’t quite figured out the whole pricing system (I’m looking at you, Authors’ Gallery), so that their inventory may sometimes actually be even more expensive than buying a new copy, but for the most part these are fantastic sources of inexpensive books, even new ones. Many also offer used CD’s, DVD’s, VHS tapes, and vinyl records. Some have coffee shops and children’s play areas, so you can practically spend the entire day there. (Not that I ever do that. Uhm, no, of course not.)
Of course, there’s also the Internet, and that’s probably my 2nd favorite place to shop for books. Amazon.com has a huge third-party marketplace that sells just about every used book you could possibly want, but so does BN.com (Barnes & Noble) and Borders.com, not to mention eBay.com. Watch out for shipping fees, though. Sometimes it can be cheaper to buy more books for one flat shipping rate, so see if you can save up your purchases for when you need to buy more than one or two.
Garage and yard sales used to be much better sources of used books, but I think more people are taking them to places like Half Price, where they might get more money. When they do show up at yard sales, they’re often overpriced (when you take into consideration where they’re being sold). When I was younger, you could often buy an entire box of romance novels or mysteries or thrillers for a couple of dollars, but it’s rare to find that kind of a bargain. Plus, you’ll have to consider all the gas and time you’ll be expending just driving around trying to find these books. Stick with used bookstores and thrift stores. You’ll get what you want, and for better prices.
HOBBIES
B. has a fairly expensive hobby: learning to fly. When we were in Grand Junction, our agreement was that he would use his overtime pay to cover his flying lessons. That turned out to be a dual blessing: a) he suddenly started enjoying all his overtime, which he had ordinarily dreaded before; he actually started asking for overtime, too, which was a huge step, and b) his flying lessons didn’t affect our basic household budget. Now that we’re in Dallas, and hi
s new job doesn’t offer overtime, he’s had to cut back on his flying lessons drastically, and right now we’re discussing how we can let him continue without it affecting our finances too much.
The lesson here would be, of course, is to pick a cheap hobby. (I know, duh, but if it’s too late for that, at least make sure that it doesn’t affect your finances too much!) Even something as innocuous and homebased as scrapbooking can be expensive, but there are ways to economize. The key is to plan ahead and to know what supplies you need so that you can take your time to source the best bargains, whether at a traditional brick-and-mortar store or online. Subscribe to local hobby store’s email newsletters, which usually have great discount coupons. Sign up for newsgroups and mailing lists so that you can network with fellow scrapbookers and take advantage of any swap opportunities. Also, sign up for your city’s Freecycle.org mailing list. Freecycle is a super-active and rapidly-growing mailing list offered in countless cities around the country. Members post things that they want to give away or need themselves, and their fellow members email back, either to claim the giveaway or let them know that they have what the original posters need. I’ve seen people give away furniture, electronics, hobby supplies, even cars. Depending on where you live, you might be part of an enormous Freecycle, in which case you’ll need to be quick about claiming something that someone else wants to give away, but again, you can’t beat the price.
Everyone needs a hobby. Everyone, even the busiest CEO in the world, whether it’s golf or playing basketball or knitting or coin-collecting. It’s an activity that’s just yours, just for your own singular pleasure, without requiring any justifications or explanations. It’s a reflection of your heart and soul, something that distinguishes you from the roles that society and biology and family imposes on you: mother, sister, daughter, worker, community volunteer, den mother, whatever. Whether it’s blogging or painting or reading or running or doing yoga or doing crossword puzzles or playing Twister or riding motorbikes or watching movies or chasing squirrels or whatever, everyone needs something that they do just for the hell of it, just for the joy of it. The key is to find something that won’t send you to bankruptcy while still providing you with enjoyment.
Oh, and if you can find something that may even earn you a bit of money (knitting, event planning, photography, etc.), even better.
What about you? How are you handling your entertainment budget in this economy? What are some of the things you’ve had to change in terms of how you spend your free time because of the recession? If you have more tips on how to have fun and still stay within budget, do share!
Photo, Picnic Wedding at the Fields of Mars, by garagolo. Courtesy of Flickr.
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{ 3 comments }
Chicago in the summer offers lots of fun, free things to do. Friends and I go to "Movie in the Park" downtown by Grant Park, with a beach chair and bottle of wine. It's like going to a drive-in movie, without a car (or backseat). I've always had to be frugal, but before the economy tanked, I'd treat my son and I to a "fine dining experience" once or twice a month. He's a wine guy so dinner could get expensive. We're now happily checking out ethnic restaurants, BYOB.
Thanks for this post it gave me some great ideas.
Dear Ann, bonjour and merci for the great ideas! You know, you just hit on one of my all-time favorite ways to dine relatively inexpensively: ethnic restaurants. They tend to have more interesting interiors and better-tasting food than similarly priced establishments, in my opinion. Plus, I am a firm believer in exposing ourselves to different cuisines in order to be a more well-rounded, better-educated society. There are few things that can help us understand a different culture better than to eat its cuisine.
Whenever I go to Whole Foods, I head for their resident wine and cheese guy and am quite honest: "I'm having such-and-such and need a really good wine recommendation, one that's no more than twelve bucks, tops." They've yet to steer me wrong, and are always happy to help out. In this economy everyone has figured out that more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better quality. Thank God!
Dear Bobbi Janay, howdy! You might try Burbmom.net, too, although you may have already. They do a good job of scoping out great ways to economize and have fun in the Dallas area!
Salut,
Marjorie
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